Want To Lose Weight After the Holidays?

I did, but not THIS bad! I came down with a nasty stomach virus in the middle of the night Thursday (we were in Louisiana with Adam's mom's side of the family), and needless to say, after throwing up 7 times in 8 hours, my Thanksgiving dinner was history! Ugh! I would rather be sick with pretty much anything except a stomach virus--I am such a baby when it comes to throwing up. I proceeded to run a 101 temp until today, and have been so doped up on finigren (thank you Lord for that stuff!) that I can barely remember the past 2 days. We woke my mom up early Friday (because who knows better than your own mom?) and she gave us tips on what to do. My sweet husband fed me ice chips every 30 minutes, woke me up for my medicine and put me back to bed. His mom went out and bought me a sippy cup so it wouldn't spill in the bed (and to just make me laugh, thanks Lynn), and I have to say, those things are awesome! Who says they are just for kids? Anyway, back to Adam...he had to pack us all up, load me into the car yesterday and drive us back from Louisiana, praying that I wouldn't get sick again in the car! Once again, my husband is my hero. I still have a fever and am just starting to eat, but since I had enough energy to type, I thought I would share my misery with everyone. Oh a happier note, the 2 days of holiday before that were wonderful...I'll post pics later when I feel better. Before I sign off, I must thank my mom, for her amazing advice from afar, Lynn, for being a good sport and giving me my first sippy cup as an adult, grandmother, for not being totally grossed out by me and providing all of my needs for the past 3 days, and Uncle Jimmy, for hooking me up with the blessing of finigren as soon as he was able. Now, I'm going back to my bed and sippy cup...

The Best Birthday Ever...

Well, I will warn you in advance, I am about to share a lot of cheesy things about my husband and what he did for me this weekend. So, you are warned!

As long as we have been married, there has always been something that conflicted with my birthday (Nov 14th). Whether it was something for school (Baylor) or something at church, every year we have gone with the flow and had a celebration that fit in with the schedule. This year Adam said he was determined to go above and beyond, and wow, did he ever! He wouldn't tell me what we were doing, and concerned about finances (we just re-did our budget and don't have room for much entertaining or gift giving) I told him not to spend money on anything big. He promised he wouldn't, and he didn't...in fact, he used his own birthday money that family had given him to take me away for the weekend! I was humbled and thrilled. He had me take off work Friday and we went to a hotel downtown, shopped at the Galleria for an afternoon, saw a movie (by the way, Stranger Than Fiction is really good and very creative!) had a romantic dinner Friday night, slept in this morning and just got back home. What a treat! I never understood why people loved to go away for a night, but now it all makes sense. We were only 45 minutes away from home, but it felt like a vacation! I highly recommend it!

Unfortunately, our car battery died today while we were out shopping, and now that we have gotten it home, Adam is outside figuring out why it is not staying charged. So I guess it is back to reality...but we are much more refreshed facing it!

A Day at the Fair!

I had the pleasure of reliving my childhood today. This week is our book fair at school, and for old times' sake, my mom came up and we shopped together! The book fair was one of my favorite things about school when I was little...my mom would come up to school during the day (which in itself was a special treat!) and we would buy new books together. I was a book NUT growing up. The t.v. was rarely on in our house, so my brother and I would often entertain ourselves with a good novel. During the summer we would go to the library every week to listen to the librarian read a book and check out books ourselves. I remember loving the way the library smelled! Whatever happened to those days? I am determined that I will read with my children the way my mom and dad read to us...I've already bought some of my favorite books to put away for our children to use one day. I love the quote that says "You are the same person today that you were yesterday except for the places you go, the people you meet and the books you read."
On top of shopping with me, my mom also brought me my favorite lunch and a venti Starbucks (by the way, the gingerbread latte is officially available, and it is wonderful!). I have to say, in all my years of loving Starbucks, I have never had a venti. Wow, amazing! So much goodness in one cup! My caffeine high is still going strong and I am typing twice as fast as usual, ha!
Mom, thanks for livening up an otherwise ordinary week at school, and blessing me by reliving the past for an afternoon. I love you!

Oh Give Me A Break!

This is just ridiculous! If you actually watch the video, you can see that Faith Hill looks directly at the camera to make a funny "oh my gosh it wasn't me" face, and waits at least a second after the results are read to do it. She even smiles a little bit! Looks to me like she was making a joke...funny, that's what she says! But of course, we have to make her look like just another diva, another kind, respectable celebrity gone bad. It frustrates me so much, and I'm not even a big country music or Faith Hill fan (although she did start out singing Christian music in prisons, which is pretty cool). All I can say is give me a break, guys, and stop looking for things to gripe about! Feel free to comment and agree or disagree!

Why I Love Fall...

I realized my last three posts were only about food, and decided it was time to write about something else!

I just love this time of year...I probably say that about every season, but really, fall just touches a special warm place in my heart! Here's just a few of the reasons I love the fall...

• The colors of fall are so warm and inviting...even though our leaves don't change right away, I love seeing all the fall decor in stores, on houses and in our school!
• The time change. Even though it throws me, I love waking up to light and settling down earlier in the evenings with my hub. And who doesn't like gaining an hour in our crazy busy culture?
• Our birthdays are in the fall (Adam is late August and I am mid-November), so lots of celebrating!
• The birds. When we lived in Waco, thousands of blackbirds came to town and hung out everywhere. I thought it was the neatest thing to see! I loved to drive around at dusk and just look at them, sitting side by side on the power lines. We have a few here, but not nearly as many as Waco.
• Thanksgiving. The food, family, time away from work...time to just enjoy each other and of course, be thankful!
• The smells of fall. I love to pull out all of my fall candles. Right now I am brewing our first batch of spiced tea, and our house smells so good. I can't wait to surprise Adam with it when he gets home from church tonight!
• Sweater weather. Ok, maybe it is only one or two days out of the month, but that's better than nothing!
• The first fire in the fireplace. I may be a hopeless romantic, but I just love those fires!
• Fall food. We love to feast on chili, soups, gumbo, cider, spiced cookies and breads...yum!
• Pumpkin flavored anything. I love Starbuck's pumpkin spice latte, and we love pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, etc.
• Our church's Christmas production. Granted it is the busiest time of the year for us (right up there with youth stuff in the summer), but we love celebrating the season and getting ready for our production every year. There's something special about the rehearsals, late nights and preparation that goes into it all. It is such a great outreach to our community, and so much fun!
• Knowing Christmas is right around the corner! (And 2 weeks off of school, yeah!)

Well, I'm off to make my first batch of caramel popcorn (thanks Nicki for that suggestion!) and sip some of that tea...

Cold Nights and Gumbo!

Mmmm...there's nothing like staying home on a cold night and smelling homemade gumbo in the kitchen! I have been reminded the past two years that cold nights are rare in Houston. I guess living in Dallas and Waco spoiled me, because we actually had seasons! I can count on two hands the times I was able to actually wear a sweater last year. Last night it slowly got colder, and I woke up freezing this morning--I love that! The weather man just said it should be even colder tonight, so we are cranking up the fireplace and snuggling with warm bowls of my first batch of gumbo this year. It is delish, economical and very easy! The only thing is it requires some chopping (I always double it and make myself chicken and Adam sausage) and it simmers for 3 hours, but boy, is it worth it! Also, I use a venison and pork sausage to cut down on the fat, and Adam loves it. Of course, I got the recipe on food network, so you can check it out at http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_32898,00.html?rsrc=search I have never tried an Emeril recipe that I didn't like! Who knows, maybe Emeril and I will cook together in my dreams tonight, ha!